Noah Review

I am just a guy who loves films, video games and TV and will talk about them at great length if given the opportunity.

Good day to you ladies and gentlemen, time for a new film review and today’s review will be on Noah, the new take on the classic Bible story directed by Darren Aronofsky. Now I’ve been waiting to see this film for a while just because of Aronofsky’s attachment to this film as the director, however the trailers didn’t really wow me so my expectations were set fairly low before seeing it. So how did the film fare in the end? Well read on and find out.

The story for the film is described as the following:

“A man is chosen by his world’s creator to undertake a momentous mission to rescue the innocent before an apocalyptic flood cleanses the wicked from the world.”

So the story we are presented with in this film is certainly familiar and all the main elements from the original Bible story are intact, but this film goes in a totally different direction by taking things into a much darker territory with a heavy focus on the corruption of mankind, the moral and ethical choices we make as human beings and see how a higher power can control the way people think. The film does take a while to find its feet as there were people in the cinema falling asleep in the first 30-60 minutes, I can also say that I was one of the people drifting off a bit because as interesting as all the dialogue and character moments were, it just felt dull and needed to pick up the pace. I also didn’t expect the film to go on as long as it did, the film really could have shaved some minutes off of the run time and taken some of the story elements out in places that I won’t spoil in this review.

As for the cast they are all really good with some standing out more so than others. Russell Crowe as Noah was awesome and I think this was his best role in a long time. Crowe plays a character who has a strong believe in the creator’s plan for the world, the creator communicates with him through different means whether they be actions good or bad, he trusts in the creators plan and that’s what makes his character so interesting. Noah is a man who is strong-willed, loves his family and will do what it takes to survive, however when the creator tells him what he must do, Noah follows orders to the point where he has to make some very hard and downright mad decisions that make you question where is moral compass is. Crowe plays this character brilliantly offering moments of intense anger, but also moments of subtly and emotion that was really believable. Jennifer Connelly as Naameh was also good as Noah’s wife. Naameh is a very strong female character, she is loyal to Noah and his cause, but does speak her mind and isn’t a throwaway background character which she could have easily become. Oh and Ray Winstone as Tubal-cain, Noah’s nemesis is incredible. Tubal-cain is one of the misguided, dangerous and corrupt members of the human race who wishes to survive the destruction of the planet by taking Noah’s ark with his merry band of dodgy individuals. Winstone is amazing, he brings such a great presence to the screen and is very intense in his acting abilities which makes him come across as a very scary guy.

Emma Watson is amazing as Ila, Noah’s daughter-in-law and Shem’s wife. This character goes through a lot both as a childhood and in her older years, has personal problems that affect her constantly, but she does have a devotion to Noah and his family too. Watson sure has come a long way as an actress as she is emotionally versatile, engaging and beautiful in this film. Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah, he was great. Like in many films he ends up being the all-knowing old person who gives the characters in the film as well as the audience information about history and what potentially will happen in the future. Hopkins is just as good as he is in all of his films, but there is a small funny aspect to his character that made him especially entertaining. Logan Lerman is pretty good as Ham, Noah’s second oldest son. This son was perceptive, he did question some of his father’s decisions and had his own wants and needs and that made for some interesting scenarios, though I didn’t find his character as engaging as others. And lastly Douglas Booth as Shem, Noah’s oldest son is pretty good too.

When it comes to the presentation it is very good. Visually the film is incredible, it has a very unique, vivid and colourful look from the landscapes to the sky to the dream sequences, it all has such a great sense of scope and beauty to it. There is also a lot of violence in this film which was really unexpected and the film doesn’t shy aware from it by giving you some very awful, frightening and gruesome imagery. I got this sense of a heightened reality from the way this film looked too. As for the soundtrack I really liked it, Clint Mansell’s score is very dramatic and has some really special moments where it stand out in the emotional character moments.

In conclusion Noah is a powerful, dramatic and visually distinctive film that takes the classic tale from the Bible and makes turns it a film of epic proportions. While it is a bit on the long side and takes a little while to find its groove, when it does get going it is really entertaining in an unexpected kind of way. I would say go out to the cinema and check this film out, it is a very different kind of Bible adaptation.

Rating: 8/10 (A very deep, dark and visually)

So what did you think of Noah? Have you seen it or are you gonna watch it? Whatever your thoughts are be sure to drop them in the comments below and I’ll see ya on the next review yo.